Yugoslav History: Slobodan Who?

Slobodan Milosevic is about to be thrust once again onto the world stage, when his trial for war crimes in the Hague gets under way this week. But for Serb schoolchildren, the man who dominated Yugoslav politics for 13 years has mysteriously disappeared. A new history text for students ages 13 and 14--the first published since Milosevic was removed from power in 2000--fails to mention him or carry a single photograph. The final chapter, titled "Contemporary Problems of Yugoslavia," covers the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo but omits the man responsible for them. The uprising that ended his rule is...